Sunday, August 16, 2009

Lucy Burns works as a facilitator, leading unredeemable sinners to hell. And the working conditions aren’t the greatest. Sure she gets a wish fulfilled every birthday and can eat all the chocolate she wants without gaining weight, but she can’t see her family, have a boyfriend, or live any kind of normal life. She’d love to quit, but she doesn’t know how - until a fellow facilitator tells her about a little-known loophole…

This is a really clever, quirky read with a well thought-out mythology and an appealing protagonist. While it does feel a bit on the short side – I would’ve liked to see her “at work” a bit more and seen more interaction with her sister Ellen (the heart of the story) – it covers all the important points to make the story resonate on both a purely enjoyable level as well as a deeper, more thought-provoking level.

My only minor quibble: I didn’t really think it was necessary to make Lucy’s love interest blind. I kept asking myself for example how as a creative writing professor he was able to read his students’ writing and write his own novel (included excerpts of which also seemed superfluous in such a short novella).

THE SINFUL LIFE OF LUCY BURNS is out in hardcover now. Find out more about the book and download the first chapter at the publisher's website.

I actually have to disagree with you on the blind love interest. I think that it was really good that he was blind... because he came to love her for who she was, not because of the way she looked. That was important because she was so physically gorgeous.

But, I really liked the book, overall. I thought it was really different from the other books I've read this year.

I had heard this book mentioned somewhere a few months ago, and thought it sounded really interesting. I am glad you reviewed and liked it. I will have to try to get a chance to read it, it sounds like a really fun book.